1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to an improvement of the life saving aid disclosed and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,366 which issued Jan. 11, 1977, and incorporated herein by reference.
In my earlier patent I disclosed a pair of ice piercing picks each embedded in a handle which also included a spring biased sheath designed to cover the sharp end of the pick when not engaged in ice. Each handle had an internal cavity or bore for receiving a spring surrounding the pick, and an enlarged head of said sheath. The handles were connected by a cord to enable easy retrieval in the event a user fell through ice covering a body of water. The picks enable a user to pull himself or herself out of a hole in the ice.
It was discovered during use that without a finger grip, the downward thrust of the pick upon hitting the ice causes the pick handle to slip from the user'hand. It was also discovered that a user could easily lose the picks after a period of time, in that, while designed to float, after a while the picks and the interconnecting cords apparently become overloaded with water and begin to sink.
In my improvement, the pick handles are provided with an indent or groove in the upper portion thereof to improve the user's grip. Also provided is an insert molded from a buoyancy enhancing material such as a closed cell expanded or foamed material. The molded insert fits inside the handle as a liner for the internal cavity or bore, so as to provide added buoyancy to the handle. Similarly, the cord connecting the two picks incorporates internally a buoyant material so that the cord will float in water.